Description
Book SynopsisA fresh and entertaining perspective on materials science involving the craftspeople who have built their careers around working with materials such as clay, stone, steel and wool.
From atomic structures to theories about magnetic forces, scientific progress has given us a good grasp on the properties of many different materials. However, most scientists cannot measure the temperature of steel just by looking at it, or sculpt stone into all kinds of shapes, or know how it feels to blow up a balloon of glass. Handmade is the story of materials through making and doing. Author and material scientist Anna Ploszajski journeys into the domain of makers and craftspeople to comprehend how the most popular materials really work.
Anna has the fresh perspective of someone at the forefront of the field. Each chapter features her accounts of learning from masters of their respective crafts. Along the way, Anna builds a fuller picture of materials and their place
Trade Review
By meeting with makers and playing with materials, Anna creates a beautiful picture of what these substances really feel like and what they are capable of. This book will make all your senses tingle. * Roma Agrawal, structural engineer and author *
This book is a wonderful journey through the art and science of materials… beautifully crafted and very personal. Highly recommended to anyone who loves ‘stuff’ and is curious enough to want to delve into its inner secrets. * Mark Miodownik, scientist, broadcaster and founder of the Materials Library *
Ultimately, Ploszajski succeeds in demonstrating that the act of making something can impart an appreciation for and understanding of the properties of the material from which it is made. * Dorothy Jones-Davis, Science Magazine *
Ploszajski is a talented science communicator… and the zany accounts of her fieldwork are lots of fun. This pop science adventure delights. * Publishers Weekly *
Luminous, witty, and enormously appealing… Handmade is exactly the sort of hybrid memoir that invites discussion and will likely spark further research. -- Colleen Mondor * Booklist *
Table of Contents
Prologue Glass Plastic Steel Brass Clay Sugar Wool Wood Paper Stone Epilogue Acknowledgements Index
